page_title: Caolan language
section_title: Demographics
hierarchical_section_title: Caolan language / Demographics
context_page_description: Caolan, sometimes Man Cao Lan, is a Tai language of northern Vietnam. It is spoken by the Cao Lan subgroup of the San Chay people; the Sán Chay proper speak a form of Chinese. According to Pittayaporn, it is closest to the Chongzuo and Shangsi Zhuang across the border in China, both of which are lumped under the apparently polyphyletic Yongnan Zhuang by Ethnologue. Together, Caolan, Chongzuo, and Shangsi form a primary branch of the Tai languages.
context_section_description: Caolan is spoken by the Cao Lan-Sán Chay people of Tuyên Quang Province. According to the people, the Cao Lan and Sán Chay peoples had arrived from southern China 400 years ago together as one group, even though they spoke two different languages. Notably, they both use Chinese characters to record their languages. Smaller numbers are also found in the following provinces (Gregerson & Edmondson 1998).
  Yên Bái
  Thái Nguyên
  Vĩnh Phúc
  Bắc Giang
  Lạng Sơn
  Quảng Ninh
caption: Provinces of Vietnam
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